Conducting Oral Histories with MCH Leaders Assignment

1. Developing a Repository of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health (MCH): Past, Present & Future Voices Conducting Oral Histories with MCH Leaders Assignment

2. Template Guidelines • The following slides may be used to explain and discuss the Maternal and Child Health Oral Histories assignment and how it can be used in your classroom. • The creation of this toolkit was funded by the Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health and assembled through a collaborative project with the University of South Florida and the University of Alabama-Birmingham. • This presentation can be used in its entirety or adapted as desired. Slides can be added, deleted or changed to meet the needs of your class. • This presentation and the attached assignment is suggested for use by both introductory and special topic Maternal and Child Health courses.

3. Maternal and Child Health • Determinants, mechanisms, and systems that promote the health and well-being of mothers, children, families, and subsequent generations • Supports healthy environments for the vulnerable populations (Alexander, 2004) Image retrieved from: http://www.dsfhs.org/thebronx.nxg

4. MCH History • Early 20th century, social action and change agents • Federal Children’s Bureau • New programs delivering MCH services • National Birth Registry, Sheppard-Towner Act, Title V • Increases in healthcare and needs fulfillment • Medicare/Medicaid, Title X, WIC program, Healthy Start • Organizations still working today • MCHB, ATMCH, etc. (Maternal Child Health Bureau, 2012)

5. MCH History Martha May Eliot Julia C. Lathrop Grace Abbott

6. MCH Leaders: Past and Present • What did we learn from these leaders? • Setting and prioritization of MCH initiatives • Early influences have life-long impacts • Retention of funding in weak economic times • Creative thinking to address issues and problems (Petersen, 2009)

7. Growing from Our Past • How have we grown as a field? • Continued mission of protecting welfare for all • Responses to shifts in priorities over time • Emerging issues due to public health evolution • It is important to understand where we have been to know where we are going.

8. What is Oral History? • Tool to preserve meaningful and relevant stories, skills and practices • Distinct in content and extent • In-depth account of personal reflections from past • Sufficient length allotted for story telling • Focused on sharing knowledge gained with the public and future generations • Comprised of 2 main parts • Process of recording individuals’ narratives about the past • Verbal document produced

9. Oral History • Goal of oral history is long term preservation • Accessibility and preservation is essential • Open to future researchers and the public • Ensure proper preservation and use updated technology • Strengths of oral histories • Subjectivity: what happened and how you felt about it • Partnership of co-creation: narrator’s interpretation and viewpoint on experiences

10. Best Practices • Interviewer must prepare to ask questions of historical significance • Research • Understand historical context • Find information gaps • Plan adequate time to capture the entirety of narrators stories • 1.5 to 2 hours per session • Plan multiple sessions if necessary • Allow freedom in narrator responses • Length, order, style, etc.

11. Preparing for an Oral History • Identify potential interviewees • Contact interviewees and request an interview • Arrange a meeting with interviewee • Research the time frame of the topic and the lives of the interviewees • Obtain and test recording equipment • Make an interview road map

12. During the Interview • Be respectful of your narrator • Informed consent and donor agreement forms • Be conscious of your equipment • Begin recording with a general introduction • Be prepared to go off topic • Maintain eye contact • Wrap up the interview with lighter talk. • End with an expression of appreciation

13. Asking Questions • Start with broad questions and ask follow ups to clarify specifics • Begin with the simple questions • Cover topics chronologically if possible • Sensitive or confrontational topics should be left until later in the interview • Ask one question at a time • Probe for details • Avoid loaded questions

14. Interviewing Tips • Try a 2 sentence format for questions • If answers are perfunctory • Ask more open-ended or more general questions • Give plenty of down-time between questions • Do more than ask questions • Do not interrupt narrator • Don’t be afraid of silence

15. Goals of the Project • Teach, archive and celebrate MCH • Involve faculty, students and the community in collaborative and meaningful teaching experience • Add richness and meaning to MCH learning opportunities • Begin to build a repository that will be invaluable as senior MCH experts retire • Promote concrete understanding of MCH central themes • Cultural competency, family centered care, life-course perspective, establishing a medical home, etc.

16. Additional Resources Abrams, L. (2010). Oral history theory. New York, NY: Routledge Alexander, G.R. (2004). Maternal and Child Health (MCH). Encyclopedia of Health Care Management. CA: Sage Publications. Baylor University Institute for Oral History. (2012). Introduction to oral history [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.baylor.edu/oralhistory Caldwell, R.B.. (2009). Principles and Best Practices. In Oral History Association. Retrieved from http://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices/ Hunt , M. (2003). The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/pdf/interviewingguide.pdf Maternal Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). MCH Timeline. Retrieved from http://mchb.hrsa.gov/about/timeline/ Minnesota Historical Society. (2001). Oral history project guidelines [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.mnhs.org/collections/oralhistory/ohguidelines.pdf Moyer. J. (1999). Step-by-step guide to oral history. Retrieved from http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html Petersen, D.J. (2009). MCH Leadership and Policy in the 21st Century [PowerPoint slides]. Available upon request. Vamos C.A., Daley E.M., Perrin K., Mahan C., & Buhi E.R. (2011). Approaching four decades of politics in family planning: A compilation of Title X’s legislative history. American Journal of Public Health, 101, 2027-2037